Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition Records

Summary

Collection ID:
ACMA.03-040
Creators:
Anacostia Community Museum
Dates:
1898-1988
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
5.83 Linear feet
5 boxes
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The records of the Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition presented by the Anacostia Community Museum measure 5.83 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1988. Included are exhibit administrative files, lists of images, press releases for the promotion of the exhibit, oral history transcripts and permission forms, and extensive research files into the Anacostia community in southeast Washington D.C.
The Research Files series contains news clippings, publications, unpublished articles, project files, and research material for the exhibitions. Subjects include local figures and the Barry's Farm neighborhood, unpublished historical narratives, and project records related to archaeological investigations and neighborhood development programs.
The Interview series consists of the audio cassettes and transcripts of the oral history interviews collected in 1970-1971 for the Evolution of a Community exhibits. This series also includes interview notes and thank you letters from the museum to the interviewees. Digital audio files are available for some of the oral history interviews.
Exhibit File series includes an outline for exhibit themes and proposed layouts, drafts of the exhibit scripts, lists of exhibit objects, promotional press releases, and related correspondence.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Evolution of a Community: 1972 exhibition records is arranged in 4 series.
Series 1: Research Files
Series 2: Interviews
Series 3: Exhibit Files
Series 4: Audiovisual Materials

Historical Note

Historical Note
Evolution of a Community
began as a research project to investigate the history of Anacostia through oral histories. This project was funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Housing and Urban Development Department, and the Cafritz Foundation of Washington, D.C. The purpose of creating an oral history project was to record Anacostia's history from the perspective of its residents and translate those stories into meaningful and interesting exhibits. Three exhibitions were created from this project by the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now Anacostia Community Museum) between 1972 and 1975 The first exhibition was
The Evolution of a Community, Part 1: 1608-1955
and was held from February 27, 1972 – August 31, 1972. This exhibition centered on the history of Anacostia from 1608 until shortly after World War II, drawing from the 1970 oral histories interviews with longtime residents. The second exhibition was
The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: 1955-Present
and was held from September 1, 1972 – December 31, 1972. This exhibition showcased Anacostia's history from 1955 to 1972 and was organized into five major topics: housing, unemployment, education, crime, and drugs. The last exhibition was
Anacostia Today: The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: Continued
and was held from March 1, 1973 – July 31, 1973. This exhibition was the same exhibition as The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: 1955-Present but brought back for the museum's fifth anniversary and continued its focus on its five major topics.

Administration

Author
Max Howell 2017; updated by Amelia Verkerk 2023.
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Records of the Evolution of a Community: 1972 Exhibition were created by the Anacostia Community Museum.
Processing Information
In 2016, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund, the Archives at the Anacostia Community Museum implemented the use of minimal level processing standards to increase information about and facilitate access to more of our collections. For this subject, minimal processing included arrangement to the folder level, based on prior processing and preservation action, with retention of the pre-existing arrangement when possible, if applicable. Otherwise, an order was imposed by the Processing Archivist. Some materials were consolidated to eliminate excess bulk but items within folders were not arranged further. The guide may or may not include a more refined lists of folder contents. Non-archival housing was replaced for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
Minimal level processing and machine-readable finding aid completed by Max Howell, 2017 July. The initial collection record was produced by Jennifer Morris in 2011.
In 2022, as part of the "DC Women Speak" project item-level cataloguing of the oral histories were completed. This project received Federal support from the Smithsonian Amerian Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Preferred Citation note
Evolution of a Community: 1972
Exhibition Records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Related Materials
Anacostia Story: 1608-1930 Exhibition Records, M03-039.
Related Materials
Anacostia Oral History Project, 1975

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Museum exhibits Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American neighborhoods Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Exhibition catalogs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Contact sheets Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Exhibition records -- 1967-1989 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Oral histories (document genres) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anacostia Neighborhood Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anacostia Community Museum Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Anacostia Community Museum Archives
1901 Fort Place, SE
Washington, D.C. 20020
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-4853
ACMArchives@si.edu